Max Cracks Down on Password Sharing, Extra Cost Revealed

It’ll be a lot harder to share accounts on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service soon.

In the coming weeks, HBO’s streamer Max will cut down on password sharing.

The move comes after Netflix did the same in May of 2023.

With the new move, subscribers of Max will not be able to share accounts with their friends or family in different households. Instead, users can pay an extra $7.99 per month for one extra member, who can watch from one device at a time. Only one extra member is allowed per account.

Last year, WBD announced it would begin to restrict password sharing in early 2025 as a means of generating extra revenue. Last year, WBD’s CEO of Global Streaming JD Perrette said to Deadline that users would be getting “some very early, gentle messaging” about the service’s anti-password sharing initiatives. Now, that messaging has come to pass.

“Extra Member Add-On and Profile Transfer are two key Max advancements, designed to help viewers with a new way to enjoy our best-in-class content at an exceptional value, and offer subscribers greater flexibility in managing their accounts,” Perrette said in a new statement. “These updates provide a simple way for subscribers to add-on a new member to their account, or for existing subscribers who have users outside of their household to smoothly, and in an uninterrupted fashion, transition their profile so that extra member can continue to access Max.”

Password sharing used to be common courtesy in the streaming world, but over time, corporations like Netflix and Disney have cracked down on the practice. WBD is just one of a growing number of streamers to chase higher profits over higher viewership.